00:00:00Prologue
00:02:12News - The 2026 MBA is ratified!
00:14:38The Scriptnotes book is a textbook
00:15:51Learning Comedy
00:45:02Q - first scene in a comedy
00:50:07Q - when to stop assistant gigs
00:55:51One Cool Things
OM DENNE EPISODE
John welcomes five-time Emmy-winning writer Ali Barthwell (Last Week Tonight) to ask, can writers learn to be funny? Drawing from her time as a teacher at The Second City, they look at what writers can learn from sketch and improv, and how to reliably find ways to make an audience laugh.
We also celebrate the WGA membership's ratification of the 2026 MBA, the educational future of the Scriptnotes book, and answer listener questions on the first scene of a comedy and when to stop taking assistant gigs and bet on yourself.
In our bonus segment for premium members, Ali shares how she built a thriving writing career without ever having to live in New York or LA.
Links:
- Ali Barthwell
- Preorder Ali's new book, Reality TV for Snobs
- The Second City
- Pre-inked star stamps
- The Padilla Pause: How the Breakout Star of SNL Nails Comic Timing by Jason Zinoman for NYTimes
- Funnier by Anne Libera
- Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book!
- Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt!
- Check out the Inneresting Newsletter
- Become a Scriptnotes Premium member, or gift a subscription
- Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube
- Follow Scriptnotes on Instagram and TikTok
- John August on Bluesky and Instagram
- Outro by Matt Gillespie (send us yours!)
- Scriptnotes is produced by Drew Marquardt and edited by Matthew Chilelli.
Email us at ask@johnaugust.com
You can download the episode here.
Engelsk
USA
I DENNE EPISODE
VIS NOTER 🔗
UDSKRIFT 🔗
Are you the producer of this podcast?
Add a podcast transcript
Need Audio-to-Text?
Transcribe with Listen411 in Just 60 Seconds
SØK BLANT TIDLIGERE EPISODER
Søk etter gamle episoder av Scriptnotes Podcast.
ANDRE EPISODE I DENNE PODKAST
In today's edition of "How Would This Be a Movie?" John and Craig convert felonies into films. Together, they take a few crime-related news stories and decide how they might be adapted for the screen.
They also discuss paracosms and the importance of daydreaming for budding screenwriters.
In our …
John welcomes Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs to talk about the emotional and logistical process of closing out their five-season series, Hacks.
Paul and Lucia also step up as guest readers for the Three Page Challenge, a segment where we look at the first three pages of a listener-submitted scrip…
John and Craig lock in on one-room movies. How does confinement change character behavior? What opportunities can a single location give you?
Plus, they consider how much dithering a character should indulge. They also answer listener questions about "hyperlink cinema" and writing phone calls.
In…
The year was 2011. We had Occupy Wall Street, Hangover II, 50 Shades of Grey… and a podcast named Scriptnotes. On this episode, John and Craig celebrate their podcast Quinceañera, marking fifteen years together on mic.
They reflect on their very first episode, the content and cultural moments that…
John and Taffy sit down for a candid conversation surrounding fame, interacting with famous people, and the depiction of fame on screen.
They also answer a listener question about cold email etiquette and the delicate art of asking for favors.
In our bonus segment for premium subscribers, Taffy d…
Ansvarsfraskrivelse: Podkasten og kunstværket, det finnes indlejret på denne siden, er fra John August and Craig Mazin, som tilhører dens eier og ikke er tilknyttet eller godkjent av Listen Notes, Inc.
REDIG
Takk fordi du hjelper med å holde podkast-databasen oppdatert.
